American Eskimo dogs on average are
intelligent and easily trained. The key in getting
your Eskie to listen to you is to be gentle and loving in
your training. If you loose your patience and yell at
your dog, you will find that he will not listen to you and
it will take some time to regain his trust. Don't
force him to do something he does not want to do.
Instead, try to talk him into it and if necessary, bribe him
with a treat he loves. During the process of training,
when your dog does something right, praise him with your
voice and feed him a small treat if you wish. He will
remember these gestures and be eager to perform again.
Training Collars
Getting the right training collar for your American Eskimo
dog is extremely important. Get the wrong collar and
you can physically damage your dog. If you have signed
up for obedience classes or are seeing a dog trainer, it is
most likely that they will advise you to get a choke chain
as a training collar. Be aware that veterinarians
advise against typical choke chains. When your dog
pulls hard while on a regular choke chain, the chain
tightens around the neck and can cause damage to nerves in
the neck. Also the main arteries that pass blood from
the heart to the head flow through the neck and too much
pressure can be exerted on these arteries when the choke
chain is too tight around the neck.
|
|
|
We recommend the martingale type training collar. It
is a combination regular strong cloth collar with a section
of choke chain. You adjust the length of the collar
around your dog's neck that the collar will tighten to when
a correction is made. Then when your dog pulls and the
collar length shortens, it will only tighten to the length
you have set. There is no risk of damage to your dog's
sensitive nerves and arteries in the neck. It is a far
more gentler and humane training collar to use.
Be aware that most Eskies are very
good at escaping from all types of collars. So
we strongly recommend that when using a martingale training
collar, also have your Eskie wear a harness. Have one
lead for the training collar and another lead for the
harness. So if your Eskie escapes out of the
training collar, he is still under control with the
harness. |
|
Information on Harnesses
The Halty is another popular training collar often called
for by dog trainers. It is been our experience that no
matter how well fitted these collars are, Eskies often
escape right out of them. They find it
difficult to get used to and they will try to get out
them. Once they manage to get out of them, usually
within a matter of a few seconds, you can bet they will try
to get out of them again and again, especially when you
least expect it.
Training
Be sure you don't use any training collar on its own. Your
Eskie will most likely try to get out of it a few times
when you first start using it. Take your American Eskimo to an area where there is no traffic in case he/she
makes a break for it. We always use the harness and the training collar together.
Keep the leash length the same for both the harness
and training collar. Tug lightly on the training collar leash when
they are about to misbehave. When you tug on
the training collar leash, say "No" at the same time. With the leash correction and voice command,
your Eskie gets
a clear message.
Try to correct as the bad behaviour is about to happen. It's all about timing the correction,
keeping calm and communicating effectively. With our Eskies,
we found that lowering the voice and whispering the
commands works best. Something special about whispering that they like. Instant attention grabber.
Have fun with the training. Bring along
your Eskie's favourite treats.
Praise them a lot and reward them with a treat when they do well. Positive re-enforcement goes a long way in
helping an Eskie to learn.
How To Train Your Eskie To Stop Barking
Barking excessively is to known to be an issue with American Eskimo dogs.
Click here to learn how you can train your Eskie to stop barking.
Potty Training Your Eskie
Potty training your Eskie is pretty easy if you do it right. Your puppy has to be old enough to
learn and with the proper guidance, here's how you can potty train your Eskie puppy.
Training Resources
An excellent resource for learning how to train your American Eskimo is the
TV show called "The Dog Whisperer". The shows airs on the National Geographic Channel on
Sundays in Canada and on Fridays in the USA. Caesar Millan is the Dog Whisperer. He has
amazing insight, intuition and talent in understanding dog behaviour. You'll learn something
new every time you watch the show. Be sure to learn how you can become your pack leader
by watching the show and reading his book.
|